Business Finance students gain hands-on experience managing Investment Portfolio
The Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) is integrated into finance courses at The University of Texas at Arlington College of Business at the graduate and undergraduate levels. This experiential learning course teaches students conceptual and theoretical thinking behind the activities of the selected student managers involved in the ongoing operations of the SMIF.
Dr. Thomas H. Thompson, a professor of Finance and Real Estate, teaches this course primarily for individuals interested in portfolio management, commercial banking, or other careers involving investment management. The goal is for students to learn how to research stocks using financial databases, research reports, and periodicals. Additionally, they are taught how to assess risk-return tradeoffs and apply financial statistics to investment management. Through projects, analytical sessions, security trading, and economic forecasting students learn about the functional tasks of managing a portfolio.
Nidhi Shah, Madhuvanti Balakrishnan Suresh, Dr. Thomas Thompson and Anaita Shetty
Students have an opportunity to attend the Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Conference in New York City. Students learn from Wall Street professionals about different economic outlooks, market strategies, global asset allocation, and portfolio management. Students attended breakout sessions and had a chance to network.
This course partnered with the professional conference gives students a unique hands-on experience allowing them to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful career.
When asked what students learned from attending the GAME Conference, Nidhi Shah, graduate student in Quantitative Finance, responded “The two-day conference was very informative. I learned about the financial market outlook for 2023. We also learned in various workshops about asset allocation and hedge funds from notable speakers.”
Anaita Shetty, Quantitative Finance student, added, “I gained knowledge about the latest trends and best practices in the field, that I intend to apply to my portfolio. Different strategies can increase our return and beat the market."
If you are an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in finance, or a graduate student in the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program, you are encouraged to explore the SMIF courses available (FINA 4328 & FINA 5328). Registration is open for Fall 2023. Contact your advisor today.